Gulfstream G550

Efficient, Comfortable and Safe, the G550 is the Lexus of large business jets.

For more than 40 years Gulfstream has been the world leader in large-cabin, long-range business jets, and the company's formula for success has never changed. Every Gulfstream model beginning with the G-1 in the 1950s has had a large and comfortable cabin, a big wing to lift the airplane to high altitude quickly, powerful Rolls-Royce engines to propel it at high cruise speed, and the latest in electronic equipment to enhance safety.

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The G550, Gulfstream's newest model, is able to fly 7760 miles (6750 nautical miles) between fuel stops, the longest range of any business jet. That is enough range to fly nonstop from New York to any of the major Asian cities. Any city in the world is no more than one fuel stop away. To imagine the extent of its nonstop range, picture a flight from Seoul that lands in Orlando before it left, thanks to the International Date Line.

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The G550 has made that trip.

The passenger cabin in the G550 is more than 50 feet long, with enough head room for a 6-foot-2 person to stand upright. Owners customize the cabin to their tastes, and most have a combination of chairs and divans that seat a dozen or so. Chairs fold into beds for long trips, and there is enough room in the forward crew quarters for three pilots and a cabin attendant to have their own private space.

And the G550 is fast. On a short trip of, say, only 5750 miles, it can dash at a speed of 561 mph flying at altitudes above 45,000 feet, far above commercial airliners. If you need to achieve maximum range, cruise speed is still a rapid 528 mph, and much of that very long trip will be flown at 51,000 feet where the air is thin and smooth and headwinds tend to die down.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the G550 is the cockpit where its pilots are kept informed about every possible detail of the flight from takeoff to touchdown. This includes an exclusive enhanced vision system that can see through rain, fog and darkness to allow the crew to land safely on almost any runway when other jets would be forced to divert to a larger airport with better weather, or to compromise safety.